Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Since the commutation spares Libby even one minute in jail, it has the effect of a pardon, while preserving his right not to testify. The sentence was commuted rather than an outright pardon granted because as long as Libby still fights his guilty verdict in court, he can invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify against Bush and Cheney, because his testimony could be used against him in a court of law.

Expect the full pardon to be issued on January 19, 2009.

Remember, courts of law are just for the little people like you and me.

Another foolish article in the Washington Post today, ignoring last week's reporting on Dick Cheney, claiming Bush made the decision alone. Like Dick didn't tell him what to do. As Jon Stewart says, if you believe this, YOU DON'T KNOW DICK.

As someone who has watched a spouse go through a number of job searches, plowing through ads with long lists of requirements for completely unrelated skills that no one person can possibly have, it's been clear to me that job recruiting is done with the clear goal of NOT finding qualified American workers, so that H-1Bs can be hired instead.

Immigration attorneys from Cohen & Grigsby explains how they assist employers in running classified ads with the goal of NOT finding any qualified applicants, and the steps they go through to disqualify even the most qualified Americans in order to secure green cards for H-1b workers. See what Bush and Congress really mean by a "shortage of skilled U.S. workers." Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and thousands of other companies are running fake ads in Sunday newspapers across the country each week.

In this file photo Don Regole of Tucson holds a sign expressing his feelings for San Francisco Giants leftfielder Barry Bonds in the fifth inning during their MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, Arizona April 17, 2006. REUTERS/Jeff Topping

Page One story in today's San Francisco Chronicle about how baseball is trying to censor fans who come to parks with anti-Barry Bonds signs, concentrating on graphic artist Don Regole.

When Don Regole drove 120 miles from his Tucson home to watch his beloved Diamondbacks face the San Francisco Giants in Phoenix, he brought along nine banners directed at Barry Bonds.

The messages had a consistent theme: The Giants outfielder had cheated by using steroids, and that was bad for the game. One sign read, "Thou Shalt Not Covet Impure Gains." Another implored, "Stop inflating records," with a syringe injecting and pumping up the letters. A third, resembling a scoreboard, shouted, "... Bonds needs 756 days in jail," a reference to Bonds chasing Hank Aaron's career home-run record of 755.

But Regole never got to display his banners at Chase Field on April 27. When Diamondbacks employees at the entrance to the ballpark asked to view the signs he had stuffed in his backpack, Regole was told the posters weren't acceptable. The reason: They were in poor taste.

A month later, after Regole had written the team to complain, he got a letter from the Diamondbacks. One sentence caught his attention: "As Mr. Bonds approaches the homerun record, we have been asked by Major League Baseball to carefully screen the signs that are brought into the ballpark by our fans."

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While home games at AT&T Park have provided a virtual sanctuary for Bonds, he has felt the wrath of fans on the road. In Boston, he was eviscerated by a chanting crowd that waved paper asterisks and held up signs that read, "Hey Barry! It's Not a Record. You Cheat," and "Call Hank Aaron and Say You're Sorry." In New York, asterisks and signs were ubiquitous, not to mention a steady stream of invective hurled his way. In Milwaukee, with baseball commissioner Bud Selig in attendance, a fan held up a sign that read, "756* Was it Worth it for An *."

At that same game, though, according to USA Today, security confiscated a banner that said, "Milwaukee Loves Hammerin' Hank, Not BALCO Barry."

A Boston Red Sox fan holds up a syringe as San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds (not pictured) exits the field during their MLB interleague baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts June 17, 2007. REUTERS/Adam Hunger (UNITED STATES)

Utility workers work to restore power in Colchester, N.Y., Thursday, June 21, 2007. Searchers recovered the body of one person killed after flash floods surged through the edge of the Catskill Mountains and were looking Thursday for up to six people missing. Scores of troopers, rangers, National Guard members and firefighters combed for a second day through acres of washed-away homes, uprooted trees and mud-covered roads in rural Delaware County. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)